The son of physicist Freeman Dyson and brother of computer cognoscente Esther Dyson, Dyson is better known as an expert in building and studying baidarkas, kayaks built by the Aleut Indians in the 18th century. He approached his new subject area with some hesitation, he says. Yet there’s no trace of trepidation in Dyson’s authoritative writing style. The final irony: it took someone from outside the discipline to advance our understanding of the ongoing dance of life, evolution and machines.